Support For Medical Marijuana In Florida Continues To Grow

A new poll is out showing that the state’s voters are actually in widespread agreement about something, and it’s an issue that cuts across race, age, gender and party lines.

Any way you look at it, Florida voters overwhelmingly support the idea of legalizing medical marijuana, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.

A cannabis plant at a marijuana grow operation in Colorado. The state has legalized recreational use of the botanical.

Credit Brett Levin / Flickr

The poll found 88 percent support for medical use of marijuana, compared to only 10 percent who opposed. And, Quinnipiac reports a slight majority of Floridians — 55 percent — also support legalizing the drug for recreational use too.

Florida residents will decide the issue this November when they vote on Amendment 2. The ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Nationwide, the landscape for legal marijuana has shifted rapidly in recent years; 23 states and the District of Colombia now allow medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington have approved recreational use. Over the weekend, The New York Times called on Congress to decriminalize pot at the federal level.

Despite these trend lines, there are still many questions over what legalizing marijuana in Florida would mean.

Ben Pollara, campaign manager for United for Care, the group promoting Florida's medical marijuana amendment, and attorney Paul Lopez, director of the Tripp Scott law firm in South Florida joined Melissa Ross to take a closer look at the poll and the marijuana issue.